Where I live, failing to give people their legally-mandated annual leave would be no different to failing to pay them their salary. If they resign or are let go, you have to pay out their annual leave (one day of annual leave = one day of extra pay).
They can reasonably instruct you to use your leave if it’s building up too much (but what’s “reasonable” or “too much” are not specifically legally defined), but they cannot just take it away. Annual leave is literally part of your legal entitlements.
Your leave resets? That sounds illegal.
Use it or lose it is very common, even in (US) government employment.
US having laws that permit wage theft? Colour me entirely unsurprised.
Vacation time is not the same as hourly wage.
Where I live, failing to give people their legally-mandated annual leave would be no different to failing to pay them their salary. If they resign or are let go, you have to pay out their annual leave (one day of annual leave = one day of extra pay).
They can reasonably instruct you to use your leave if it’s building up too much (but what’s “reasonable” or “too much” are not specifically legally defined), but they cannot just take it away. Annual leave is literally part of your legal entitlements.